Rinker`s New Ceo Puts Focus On Fulfilling Customers` Needs

June 15, 1992|By ROBERT McCABE, Business Writer

To hear Rinker Materials Corp.`s new chief executive talk, selling concrete blocks to contractors doesn`t have to be much different from serving up burgers and fries or helping people find shoes that fit.

Even in the world of concrete blocks and ready-mix concrete, it`s possible to put the customer first.

And that is what William L. Snyder, new chief executive of West Palm Beach-based Rinker, intends to do.

Snyder, 56, former president of Pennsylvania-based American Olean Tile Co., recently succeeded David V. Clarke, 46, who on May 1 became chief executive of CSR America, the Atlanta-based holding company for Rinker and five other U.S. construction materials firms.

CSR America is owned by CSR Ltd., a multinational firm based in Sydney, Australia.

Begun on a $615 investment by Marshall E. ``Doc`` Rinker in 1926, Rinker Materials was sold to CSR Ltd. in 1988 for $515 million. The company generates about $300 million in revenues annually.

Snyder is the first American to head one of CSR`s operations in the United States.

``It was a deliberate move,`` said Clarke, who is Australian.

``People who are American are far more familiar with the marketplace,`` he said. ``The reason for putting Australians in initially is to get your operating systems into the acquired company as soon as you can.``

But there was more to Snyder`s selection than his being an American.

``I think we were attracted to his education and experience, on the marketing side particularly,`` Clarke said.

``Where most companies in our industry tend to be very production- oriented, we wanted to redirect Rinker to become customer-focused. The other thing is that we`re embarking, companywide, on a total-quality program and Bill has experience in that in his previous job,`` he said.

Snyder has been laying the groundwork for changing the way the company does business.

He spent his first month or so simply meeting with small groups of employees for 20 minutes at a time, trying to get to know them better.

He also has begun a survey of Rinker`s customers, seeking to find out what their expectations are, what they want.

``There`s nothing magic about the total-quality process,`` said Snyder, who implemented a quality program at American Olean Tile five years ago.

Facets of the program included pushing decision-making down to the lowest level possible in the organization and attempting to eliminate the walls separating different operations at the company.

``Total quality processes, very simply, (mean) conducting your business with the primary focus on your customer. Doing the right thing with the goal of doing them right 100 percent of the time,`` Snyder said.

Accuracy in orders and billing, as well as getting the right quantity of supplies delivered at the right time can all be key issues, he said.